LAND O’ LAKES, Fla. (WFLA) – Eleven brand new homes in Pasco County’s Connerton neighborhood have the address of Flourish Drive, but that street stops before it reaches those homes.
Homeowner Michelle Leusch says it’s not only a headache for visitors and delivery drivers to find the homes, she worries about safety and whether first responders could find the addresses quickly.
“As you can see, there’s gates on the front of these homes because this is the actual street, so it’s weird to have a dark, vacant lot with debris and trash and kids using this sidewalk to come home from the school.”
When Leusch says she got the runaround from the builder and the county, she called Better Call Behnken for answers.
Pasco County sent this statement:
“It’s the developer’s responsibility to finish Flourish Drive. Meanwhile, Pasco County Fire Rescue is working to verify alternate routes, which will be shared with our 911 dispatch team so emergency crews can respond as quickly as possible.
Builder Lennar Homes sent a statement with a different take on the situation.
“The satisfaction of our homeowners is of utmost importance and we understand their desire to have this road paved. These homesites were developed in 2019 as part of three phases of Connerton Villages 3 & 4. It was our desire to pave this road at the time of development, however Pasco County utilities denied our request to build this section of Flourish Drive due to a concern with a dead-end water main. As a result, Flourish Drive will be extended beyond Violet Periwinkle Drive when the future residential phases are developed.
Better Call Behnken asked Lennar if they would consider asking the county again to pave this section of road since there are now 11 homes there. A spokeswoman said she would look into this.
Meanwhile, Behnken asked the county why this was denied the first time and whether the builder could pave the road now. The county has not yet responded to that question.
Leusch says she hopes the county and builder will work together to help the new homeowners.
“It’s silly, really,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense.”